Object

Representation ID: 7888

Received: 23/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Anthony Moran

Thank you for your letter plus enclosures dated 6th August.
I am writing re ‘Design Guide’
I have to say, I write more in sorrow than in anger. I don’t like any of your indicated choices. What is proposed in Options 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d is a sprawl of new housing estates, which will destroy tracts of the countryside at the cost of environmental damage. It is a case of putting the cart before the horse: Improved transport links are needed e.g. the restoration of the railway between Bedford St. Johns and Sandy. There is no need of more houses. Milton Keynes was built to provide for regional demand.
I appreciate having been given this opportunity to comment, even though I suspect this ‘consultation’ follows what is already a done deal: for instance, the East-West railway company is already planning to demolish Spenser Road to make way for six tracks going North form Bedford.
These proposals come at a huge cost to the taxpayer, but also with huge profits for developers and builders (who of course have no connection with local elected officials.)
Since the war, various elected vandals have inflicted hideous ugliness on Bedford, especially on the riverside. The latest outrage is the Riverside North development.
Sorry, but that had to be said. Please excuse my handwriting.
Yours faithfully
Mr A T Moran